Department for Transport

Aircraft: Safety

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the Civil Aviation Authority, and (2) representatives of the wider aviation and airline sector, about those laws relating to aircraft safety which are subject to the provisions of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government is continuing to plan and discuss with the Civil Aviation Authority how to address the requirements of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and ensure a coordinated and seamless transfer to a new legislative framework. The powers provided by section 60 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, the revoke and restatement powers contained in the Bill, combined with the power to extend the sunsetting date for Retained EU Legislation to 2026, will allow us to maintain a comprehensive set of aviation regulations. The Government is committed to engaging with stakeholders to ensure policy decisions are well-informed and result in benefits for both citizens and business.

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to ensure the continuation of rural bus services.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government has provided nearly £2 billion of support since March 2020 through emergency and recovery grants to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the bus sector. This includes a six-month extension to the Bus Recovery Grant to provide up to £130 million to continue supporting bus services in England outside London until the end of March of this year. Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone. The Government is also providing £60 million to help bus operators cap single fares at £2 on services in England outside London from 1 January to 31 March 2023. Over 130 operators covering more than 4,600 routes throughout England are participating in the scheme, including in rural areas, which will help increase patronage on buses and help millions save on their regular travel costs. We have engaged extensively with rural stakeholders on how new transport modes can benefit rural communities in developing the soon to be published Future of Transport: Rural Strategy.

Department of Health and Social Care

Disability: Children

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Systems will ensure joined up provision between health, social care, and education for disabled children.

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government, furtherto the remarks byLord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Systems will work with schools to ensure that support is available for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Boards are ensuring the provision of (1) support, and (2) treatment, for disabled children.

Lord Markham: Integrated care systems are designed to join-up the commissioning of health, social care services and other system partners to meet the population health needs. These needs are assessed in the data-driven joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs), prepared by Health and Wellbeing Boards. Government guidance on the preparation of JSNAs states that they should include the needs of children with disabilities and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within these assessments. Integrated care partnerships (ICPs) must set out how local authorities and integrated care board (ICBs) can meet these assessed needs in integrated care strategies. Statutory guidance states that these strategies should consider the health and wellbeing outcomes of babies, children, young people and families and they should include a statement on how the arrangement of health and social care services can be closely arranged with health-related services such as education providers. Furthermore, to ensure SEND duties receive sufficient focus in the ICB, NHS England statutory guidance will contain provision for the delegation of responsibility for these duties to ICB executive leads.

Dementia: Medical Treatments

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the recent approval of lecanemab in the United States, what plans they have to invest in equipment for diagnosing dementia to prepare the NHS for the arrival of new and innovative dementia treatments.

Lord Markham: NHS England is currently exploring what pathways, processes and equipment might best support future disease modifying treatments, including for Alzheimer’s disease. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for health and care, including on assessment, management and support for people living with dementia and their carers. NICE guideline NG97 states that clinicians should consider a fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan and cerebrospinal fluid tests when the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is uncertain. A copy of the guidelines is attached. Integrated commissioning boards are expected to commission appropriate resources, including such testing, in line with the local population health needs.attachment (pdf, 221.1KB)

NHS: Drugs

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what medicines are currently not available due to stock shortages.

Lord Markham: Medicines frequently go in and out of stock. The latest up to date information about medicine supply issues being managed by the Department is available in an online only format, on the Specialist Pharmacy Services website, which also hosts comprehensive management advice for NHS healthcare professionals.

Allied Health Professions and Ancillary Staff: Vacancies

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address staffing shortages to ensure that patients receive high-quality, allied healthcare professional and ancillary care, including those patients occupying the additional 7,000 hospital beds announced in August 2022.

Lord Markham: Local National Health Service trusts are responsible for managing its own staffing levels and for recruiting the number of health professionals required to meet local service need as part of their workforce planning. The NHS published plans for increasing capacity in urgent and emergency care over winter. The plans looked to reduce hospital occupancy through increasing capacity by the equivalent of at least 7,000 general and acute beds, through a mix of new physical beds, virtual wards and improvements elsewhere in the pathway. This intervention was developed with integrated care boards responsible for developing plans to achieve this increase in bed capacity based on realistic assumptions, including how many staff can be recruited and at what speed.To help address staff shortages Health Education England (HEE) National Allied Health Professionals (AHP) Workforce Supply Project delivered valuable recruitment initiatives including improved return to practice pathways, pre-registration apprenticeships and more jobs for new graduates helping to improve staffing shortages. A HEE national programme started in 2022/23 to support NHS trusts with AHP international recruitment.Furthermore, all-eligible nursing, midwifery and allied health profession degree students have received a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year. To support future workforce planning the Department have commissioned NHS England to develop a long term plan for the NHS workforce for the next 15 years. The plan will help ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, with the right skills to transform and deliver high quality services fit for the future.

Care Workers: Vacancies

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the funding announced by the Prime Minister on 9 January to support patients who are medically fit but need care after discharge from hospital will be ring-fenced to address the national shortage of front-line domiciliary and residential care staff.

Lord Markham: The additional £200 million announced on 9 January is specifically for short term care, to allow local areas to purchase bedded step-down capacity and associated clinical and therapeutic support for those patients who do not meet the criteria to remain in hospital. It will be for integrated care boards to determine how best to address need in line with the guidance set out by NHS England.

Care Homes: Staff

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reassure families that relatives discharged from hospital into home care will be adequately supported, given the current staff shortages.

Lord Markham: We are making available £500 million to support safe and timely discharges from hospital and can be used to boost workforce capacity. We committed a further £200 million to fund short term National Health Service step-down care packages and wrap-around primary and community health services to support patient’s recovery.

Medicine: Higher Education

Lord Rose of Monewden: To ask His Majesty's Government why they have reduced the number of fundeduniversity places for trainee doctors from 10,000 to 7,500 per annum in England.

Lord Markham: There has been no reduction of the number of funded university places from 10,000 to 7,500 per annum in England. In 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to adjust school A-Level exams, the Government temporarily lifted the cap on medical school places for students obtaining the required A-Level grades and holding an offer from a Medical School in England resulting in intakes of 8,405 and 8,460 respectively.

Hypothyroidism: Prescriptions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 15 December 2022 (HL4328),what assessment they have made of whether the NHS Devon Integrated Care Board has sufficiently taken account in its policies to support patients with hypothyroidism; and in particular, whether the Board has ensured that (1) national recommendations to not alter medication if a patient is stable on thyroid treatment are followed, (2) blanket reductions in the T3 dose to 10 μcg for all patients do not take place regardless of (a) individual needs, or (b) the recommendations of NICE, which gives 10μcg as a starting dose, rising up to 60μcg as necessary, and (3) regardless of whether patients can take levothyroxine or not, it is substituted it for (a) armour thyroid medicine, or (b) doses of T3 in excess of 10μcg.

Lord Markham: No assessment has been made. Decisions about prescribing are made with the healthcare professional concerned, who has clinical responsibility for that particular aspect of a patient’s care. Prescribers must ensure that the medicines considered appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and take account of the appropriate national guidance on clinical effectiveness and the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England formally oversees ICBs and has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB and publish their findings.

Disability: Children

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how Integrated Care Boards collect sufficient data to support the commissioning of services for disabled children.

Lord Markham: Integrated care systems are designed to join-up the commissioning of health, social care services and other system partners to meet the population health needs. These needs are assessed in the data-driven joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs), prepared by Health and Wellbeing Boards. Government guidance on the preparation of JSNAs states that they should include the needs of children with disabilities and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within these assessments. Integrated care boards and local authorities must have regard to these assessments when carrying out their functions, including commissioning.

Children's Social Care Independent Review: Integrated Care Boards

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Markham on 11 January (HL Deb col 1415), how they will incorporate recommendations from the Independent review of Children's Social Care, published on 23 May 2022,into their Integrated Care Board Plans.

Lord Markham: The Government’s approach to the recommendations from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care will be published early this year. Our 2019 manifesto committed to review the children’s social care system, to provide better outcomes for children. Last year, three reviews were published, including The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. We are committed to providing a rapid response to these reviews early this year so we can make the urgent progress that children need.

Department for Education

Mathematics: Sixth Form Education

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of school pupils in England in Years 12 and 13 not currently studying Mathematics.

Baroness Barran: As seen in the table below, the department estimates that around 54% of pupils in all state-funded settings in England at the end of key stage 4 in 2018/19 did not participate in maths at post-16. This data has been taken from the following publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-16-maths-participation-for-pupils-ending-ks4-in-2018-to-2019. Table 1: Estimates of post-16 maths participation for pupils at the end of KS4 in 2018/19 Cohort of pupils at end of KS4 (2018/19)Estimate of cohort studying maths to meet condition of funding*Total maths exam entries for A level and AS (2020/21)Core Maths entries (2020/21)Estimate of cohort not participating in maths post-16Estimate of cohort participating in a maths qualification post-16 (a)(b)(c)(d)(e) = (a) - (b) - (c) - (d)(f) = (a) - (e)% of cohort100.029.814.61.953.746.3Number542,621164,70179,16010,345291,415251,206Source: KS4 data (2018/19), 16 to 18 attainment data (2020/21), Core Maths data (2020/21 – previously unpublished) *To meet the condition of funding, a student must study an approved qualification. These are GCSEs, functional skills level 2 and certain other qualifications, known as ‘stepping stone’ qualifications. Full-time students who have a GCSE grade 3 or grade D must study a maths and/or English GCSE.

Special Educational Needs: Employment

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage ofyoung people with Education, Health and Care Plans are in employment within six months of leaving education.

Baroness Barran: Key stage 4 destination measures published by the department show the activity of young people in the academic year after leaving key stage 4 (usually aged 16), including pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The latest data for state-funded mainstream and special schools shows that 1.5% of pupils with an EHC plan had a sustained employment destination after leaving key stage 4 in 2020, compared with 3.4% of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) support and 2.3% of pupils with no identified SEN.The attached table includes data on employment destinations as well as other types of activity (education, apprenticeships, not sustained, unknown).Destination data is also published for students that reached the end of 16 to 18 study in 2020, but it does not include a specific breakdown by EHC plan. In this data, information on SEN eligibility status is based on data recorded by state-funded mainstream schools during 16 to 18 study only, and does not cover the entire cohort of young people studying at post-16, which includes further education colleges. This data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9ffa5c63-983f-43fd-8160-08daf87133b7.Sustained participation in employment was counted if there was some participation in at least 5 of the 6 months between October and March of the 2020/21 academic year.HL4793_table (xlsx, 22.3KB)

Students: Housing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to university students struggling to find accommodation due to high demand.

Baroness Barran: The department plays no role in the provision of student residential accommodation. Universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. It is for local areas, through their Local Plans, and in response to local needs and concerns, to determine the level of student accommodation required in their area. The department continues to work alongside the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to engage with students and the higher education (HE) sector to understand the impact of existing and proposed new housing policies.We encourage universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are fair, clear, and have the interests of students at heart. This includes making accommodation available at a range of affordable price points where possible. We also encourage HE providers and private accommodation providers to work in partnership to help students make well-informed choices about their accommodation.

Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of school exclusions in the last five years were of children with Special Educational Needs.

Baroness Barran: The department publishes figures on the proportion of pupils permanently excluded or suspended from schools in England. The most recent full academic year figures, covering academic years up to 2020/21, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england/2020-21. The table attached shows the proportion of permanent exclusions and suspensions at state-funded schools which were of pupils who had special educational needs.Exclusions and suspensions table (xlsx, 29.8KB)

Pupil Exclusions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that schools do not off-roll pupils.

Baroness Barran: Off-rolling (the practice of removing a pupil from the school roll without using a permanent exclusion, when the removal is primarily in the best interests of the school, rather than the best interests of the pupil) is unlawful and unacceptable in any form and we continue to work with Ofsted to tackle it.Ofsted considers the records of children taken off roll and their characteristics and strengthened the focus on this in the revised framework in September 2019. Where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report and, where appropriate, could lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.A pupil’s name can lawfully be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in Regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register under any of the grounds prescribed in Regulation 8 as soon as the ground for removal is met and no later than the time at which the pupil’s name is removed from the register.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Lord Laming: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the absence rate of pupils in secondary schools in England of over 15 per cent.

Baroness Barran: Being in school and ready to learn is crucial to pupils’ attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances.The department's focus is on supporting children and young people to recover from the disruption of COVID-19 through a multi-year programme and has made available almost £5 billion for education recovery. This includes nearly £2 billion of direct funding to schools so they can deliver evidence-based interventions based on pupil needs.We have also published new guidance, ‘Working together to improve school attendance’, which makes clear the importance of addressing the barriers to attendance through strong multi-agency working at school, multi-academy trust and local authority level.The department consulted on making this guidance statutory and received broad support. We intend to make this guidance statutory when parliamentary time allows.The department has brought together an Action Alliance of lead professionals from key frontline services that support families. Members from education, health, justice, the third sector and parent organisations have collectively committed to use their roles and organisations to undertake activities to improve attendance.

Education: Finance

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total budget for education in England in each year from (1) 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022, and (2) 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2022.

Baroness Barran: The Department’s resource and capital budgets from the 2015/16 to 2022/23 financial years are set out in the table below.Financial yearResource Departmental Expenditure Limit, excluding depreciation (RDEL), £ billionsCapital Departmental Expenditure Limit (CDEL), £ billions2015/16534.92016/17606.02017/18614.92018/19625.52019/20644.92020/21695.42021/22725.32022/23776.4 Capital budgets vary between years, reflecting large capital programmes that spend at different rates across their lifetime and at different delivery stages.

Schools: Air Conditioning

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of schools have had electrostatic precipitators installed for the purposes of air filtration, particularly for viruses and bacteria.

Baroness Barran: The installation of electrostatic precipitators is not something the department has previously delivered or advised to schools. Any information on their use would only be held by the settings themselvesIn winter 2021, the department provided over 8,000 High Efficiency Particular Air (HEPA) air cleaning devices to state-funded education settings that identified poorly ventilated teaching spaces. In November 2022, we re-opened the scheme for eligible settings with identified poor ventilation to receive department-funded HEPA devices.During the COVID-pandemic, the department worked closely with Scientific Emergency Group for Emergencies, Environmental Modelling Group (SAGE – EMG), who published a paper on 4 November 2020 titled, ‘Potential application of Air Cleaning devices and personal decontamination to manage transmission of COVID-19’. This is available in the attached document.This paper concluded that devices based on other technologies (ionisers, plasma, chemical oxidation, photocatalytic oxidation and electrostatic precipitation) have a limited evidence base that demonstrates effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 and/or may generate undesirable secondary chemical products that could lead to health effects such as respiratory or skin irritation. The paper also mentions that electrostatic precipitation has high energy requirements. Therefore, the department issued HEPA air cleaning devices to schools that identified poorly ventilated teaching spaces.SAGE_EMG_paper (pdf, 921.2KB)

Schools: Buildings

Baroness Chapman of Darlington: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Education on 13 January (114721), when they will publish the "detailed, school level" findings of the Condition Data Collection Programme.

Baroness Barran: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme was one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK public sector, which has helped the department to understand the condition of the school estate in England and how it is changing over time. The key, high-level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available in the attached document.The department is still planning to publish more detailed school level CDC data. The data is still being prepared, but due to the size of the dataset, there has been a delay in publication. We plan to publish the CDC data as soon as possible.Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_fi (pdf, 673.1KB)

Oak National Academy

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will pause the procurement process for Oak National Academy pending the outcome of the ongoing application for judicial review by the British Educational Suppliers Association, the Publishers Association, and the Society of Authors.

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the potential impact on the commercial market for curriculum resources of establishing Oak National Academy as an arm’s-length body.

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the value of the (1) curriculum resources market, and (2) educational supplies market, to the UK economy.

Baroness Barran: As part of the process to set up Oak National Academy as an Arm’s Length Body, the department produced a business case which included an assessment of potential market impact. This was published in November 2022.The business case draws upon evidence provided by the market. The department estimates the value of the commercial curriculum resources market to be between £200 to £300 million per annum. We do not have a separate estimate for the educational supplies market.Monitoring market impact is a priority for the department and will be factored into the ongoing evaluation of Oak National Academy, including its review in 2024 as part the wider Public Bodies Review programme. The review will act as a checkpoint to ensure that Oak is acting effectively and will include consideration of the effect on the commercial curriculum resources market.It is important that teachers and pupils are able to benefit from the high-quality materials that Oak will provide as soon as possible. Oak will therefore be continuing with its activities while the application for judicial review is being considered, including the procurement of curriculum packages according to the planned schedule.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Iran: Nuclear Power

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had withsignatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), regarding Britain’s continued membership of that agreement.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have worked intensively to deliver a diplomatic solution to address Iran's nuclear escalation. After many months of negotiations, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) Coordinator tabled viable deals in March and again in August 2022 which would have returned Iran to full compliance with its JCPoA commitments and returned the US to the deal. Iran refused to seize a critical diplomatic opportunity to conclude the deal with continued demands beyond the scope of the JCPoA.

Jerusalem: Religious Buildings

Baroness Deech: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Jewish right to visit the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) under the terms of the Status Quo arrangement.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK continues to be supportive of the Status Quo arrangements which enable all three Abrahamic faiths to worship in the Old City of Jerusalem. I reiterated this position during my recent visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv and Consulate General in Jerusalem regularly raise issues of religious freedom with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority. We continue to call on all sides to uphold the historic status quo at the Holy Sites.

China: Diplomatic Service

Lord Rogan: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 9 January (HL3519),how many consular officials are currently serving the Consulates General of thegovernment of China in (1) Belfast, (2) Manchester, and (3) Edinburgh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Further to my Written Answer of 9 January (HL3519), as of 18 January 2023 FCDO records list 11 consular officers appointed to the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Belfast, 13 consular officers to the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Manchester and 10 consular officers to the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Edinburgh. Article 1(1)(d) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 defines "consular officer" as "any person, including the head of a consular post, entrusted in that capacity with the exercise of consular functions."

Pakistan: Ahmadiyya

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan concerning reports that police have destroyed the minarets of the Mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Moti Bazaar Wazirabad; and what response they received.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Minister for Development Andrew Mitchell raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 9 January. On 14 December 2022, I raised this issue with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society; the High Commissioner raised the matter with Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar on 4 January.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Waste: Buildings

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of progress in reducing waste from sites of new buildings and building refurbishment; and what plans they have further to reduce such waste, including through the introduction of new (1) laws, or (2) regulatory provisions.

Lord Benyon: The Government co-chairs the Construction Leadership Council with the construction sector. As part of this, The Green Construction Board's focus is to advise the construction industry on the regulatory, policy and technical framework required to deliver a zero carbon, zero waste built environment. Government has supported the Green Construction Board to produce a Routemap to Zero Avoidable Waste, published in July 2021, and will continue to promote the adoption of resource efficient practices across the sector through close collaboration with the Green Construction Board, and wider industry engagement. As well as the Green Construction Board, the Construction Leadership Council has developed Construct Zero, a framework to set priorities and provide the Construction Leadership Council with a sector level dashboard on progress towards Net Zero. Government is also supporting the National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research programme (NICER), set up under the Strategic Priorities Fund, which was developed to match academic research to government strategic need. With the support of Defra, a total of £30 million for research funding has now been allocated for NICER to establish five circular economy research centres, including one responsible for mineral-based construction materials. The construction materials centre will, amongst other deliverables, focus on innovation to reduce the use and impacts of virgin materials.

Treasury

Duty Free Allowances: Airports

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government whypassengers travelling from airports in Northern Ireland to airports in either Great Britain or the EU are unable to make duty free purchases before departure.

Baroness Penn: Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the United Kingdom’s tax territory and as such applying duty free arrangements would not be appropriate and would risk undermining business in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the government remains committed to maintaining frictionless trade on the island of Ireland. Introducing duty-free shopping for goods bought in Northern Ireland and moving into the EU would undermine that commitment.

Imports: Inspections

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have a mechanism to identify specific inbound goods for inspection prior to those goods reaching the UK.

Baroness Penn: A risk-based, intelligence-led approach is taken at the Border to tackle the highest and most significant risks before arrival. This approach includes risk-based pre- and post-clearance checks, regular monitoring of supply chains to identify any potentially illicit trade in cooperation with international partners and providing education to traders on their responsibilities. Entry summary declarations (also known as an ENS) submitted by carriers, are used to identify risks on goods before they arrive. They are part of the international standard for safety and security set up by the World Customs Organisation in their SAFE Framework. Where the Goods Vehicle Movement System (GVMS) is used for inbound goods with pre-lodged customs declarations, goods requiring checks are identified before they disembark. In other circumstances where customs declarations have been pre-lodged goods may be identified for checks provisionally. Imports of all goods which are regulated for sanitary or phytosanitary purposes must be pre-notified via the Imports of Animals, Products, Food and Feed System or an equivalent system for plants and plant products. This information is used to target risk-based checks of these imports, to safeguard UK biosecurity.

Electric Vehicles: Car Allowances

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to raise the mileage rate allowance for electric vehicles, specified by HMRC in relation to vehicle usage for work purposes, to bring it into line with that specified for petrol and diesel vehicles.

Baroness Penn: The Government introduced the Advisory Electric Rate (AER) in 2018. It applies to employees who use a fully electric vehicle as a company car. The AER was raised in December 2022 from 5 pence per mile (ppm) to 8ppm and is currently reviewed on a quarterly basis. The revised value of the AER was calculated using the quarterly index for domestic electricity published by the Office for National Statistics and the average electrical energy consumption values for each car model, provided by the Department for Transport. Employers are not required to use the AER. Instead, they can use different rates to reflect their employees’ circumstances. Provided they can show that the bespoke rates do not result in a profit for the employee, there will be no tax to pay. Otherwise, when employers reimburse employees at a higher rate than the published AER (8ppm), the excess is subject to Income Tax and National Insurance contributions.